{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-colleagues-slam-mcdonalds-for-squeezing-customers-with-excessive-price-increases", "Wyden, Colleagues Slam McDonald\u2019s for Squeezing Customers with Excessive Price Increases", "2024-10-23", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "OR", "Ron Wyden", "W000779", "www.wyden.senate.gov", "wyden", "https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "\u201cCorporate profits must not come at the expense of people\u2019s ability to put food on the table.\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today he has joined with Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bob Casey, D-Pa. to press McDonald's for more information on the company\u2019s pricing decisions as fast food prices continue to increase, outpacing inflation and squeezing customers.\n\n\u201cWhile McDonald\u2019s is not the only fast food restaurant that has increased prices significantly in recent years, its dominant market position as the largest fast food chain in the United States has an outsize impact on American consumers. While working families are trying to make ends meet, McDonald\u2019s and its corporate counterparts have continued to grow their profits,\u201d the senators wrote to McDonald\u2019s President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski .\n\nEarlier this year, McDonald\u2019s USA President Joe Erlinger tried to blame the company\u2019s menu price increases on inflationary pressures and input costs, but the data tells another story. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, fast food prices have consistently outpaced inflation, and since 2020, overall inflation has increased by 20 percent, while McDonald\u2019s has increased its menu prices for several items substantially more. McDonald\u2019s net annual income rose by over 79 percent \u2013 nearly $8.5 billion, from 2020 to 2023.\n\nWhile McDonald\u2019s raised prices, the company also spent nearly $4 billion on stock buybacks in 2022 and $3 billion in 2023. The company also benefits from a tax loophole that favors buybacks. This prioritizes Wall Street shareholders over investments in McDonald\u2019s own business and workers.\n\n\u201cCorporate profits must not come at the expense of people\u2019s ability to put food on the table,\u201d concluded the senators. \u201cAs we seek to investigate and understand the increased consumer costs in the economy, we hope McDonald\u2019s will help us to understand why its prices have risen so high.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:55:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-colleagues-slam-mcdonalds-for-squeezing-customers-with-excessive-price-increases"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6655098404735327, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}